Secrets and Truths
by VegasCSI
Summary: Rating will change to M in Chapter 6...This will be the only chapter with adult sexual content. Feel free to skip to Chap 7. Sara's past comes back to haunt her. How will the team react to the news that her past isn't picture perfect. GSR, Team friends
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own CSI or any of the Characters, they are owned by someone else. If the people that own CSI would like to give me the charaters they can feel free to do so. Until then please don't sue when I borrow them, I will return them unharmed (or at least after they are healed up). 

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**PROLOGUE**

"Please, don't hurt me, just let me go, I won't tell anyone, just tell me what you want" She said trying, and failing, to remain calm as she was thrown into the room, blindfolded.

"Oh now, come on, don't you want to have some fun?" the voice asked. Coming closer, he bite the back of her neck, and kicked her knees out from under her, he forced her onto her hands and knees. He attacked her, tearing her clothing from her body. Leaving her shivering, cold, frightened, naked, but untouched, leering at her that he would be back later, taking her clothes with him to guarantee that she would be naked and waiting for him when he came back.

After leaving her he decided it was time to call someone, someone he could hurt just by letting them know he had her. Someone he could hurt as much as he would be hurting her, parents, sibling, boyfriend, girlfriend, it didn't matter, just someone to torment. Going through her purse he found a picture of a little girl in an envelope, written on the envelope were the words 'never go back'. Looking at the picture he decided he had to get all of his fun from her, there would be no one else to torment.

She didn't know how many days had passed when he dumped her body in the field. She just knew that she had to remain quiet, let him believe that she was dead. She knew she wouldn't be able to walk to a hospital, but hopefully she could make it until someone found her. Then the world went black.

She didn't know how much time had passed when she woke up, but she felt the grass beneath her and knew she at least had the opportunity to save herself. She had to find help. Slowly she got to her feet and walked along the road, until she felt light headed and stumbled, which was only a few minutes. As she began to stumble she saw a car and tried to wave her hands at it. She saw them slow down, and then she once again gave into the blackness, that although didn't offer peace at least offered less pain.

She didn't know how much time had passed when she woke up, but heard the beeping of the machine above her head and realized she was in the hospital. She felt the man beside her scraping beneath her nails telling her that she would be ok. After everything that had happened to her she had assumed that she would never be able to trust another man to be near her, but the voice was so soothing. She knew that she would be safe as long as he was there. She went to sleep without fear, knowing she would wake up again.

When she woke up again she asked the nurse what day it was, and realized she had been missing for over a month. She also decided that after the police report was filed she would never talk about this again. The first time she was a child, but this time she should have been able to protect herself. There wouldn't be a next time; she couldn't let it happen again. She fell asleep with a grimace on her face realizing that she didn't know if she could stop it.

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My first story, please let me know if I should continue to post, or if you would be willing to Beta for me. Thanks ;)


	2. Chapter 1

4

**CHAPTER 1**

Warrick sat on the couch in the break room watching Greg and Nick duel it out in their new video game. Cheers could be heard from the one who scored points or a groan when someone crashed in into a wall. Warrick was hoping Nick would win; after all he was playing the winner next and thought his odds were better against Nick than Greg.

Going further down the hall you see Sara leaning over some clothing from a hit and run, she stands up and stretches her arms above her head as she continues to look at the evidence. Just then Grissom walks into the room and stands watching her from the doorway for a second. Walking in further he asks if she has made any progress on the case. She responds that she should have it closed by the end of the night, he warns her that he will not be happy and will confine her to the lab for the rest of the month if she ends up working a double. Grissom is smirking at her as she turns her attention back to the evidence, he walks out of the room and decides to pick up his messages. Flipping through his messages Grissom sees that most of it is just the basic phone message: could he give a seminar, help consult on a case? And then his attention turns to a message left by Desert Palm. He wonders why the receptionist didn't contact a CSI directly instead of leaving a message if there was a connection to a case. Looking further he realizes that the message doesn't refer to an active case, but one that he has made a request to be updated on.

A fourteen year old girl, found on the road side in the desert, beaten, raped, and nearly dead (nearly beaten and raped to death). She held on long enough to be found and rushed to the hospital. When she was first brought into the hospital Grissom had scrapped under her nails and found DNA evidence of her attacker. He had been sure that she would live. The message in his hand states otherwise, the girl had died earlier that day. Grissom's steps faltered for a second as he fears he may be getting a migraine. Feeling a vibration against his hip and he lifts up his cell phone so that he can see the new text message he had received. Seeing what the message said a smile once again took up residence on his face and put a bounce in his step as he made his way to his office. Suddenly it occurs to Grissom that instead of getting easier to hide his relationship over the past two years, every day it seems to get harder for him to hide how happy he is. From down the hall Grissom spots Catherine entering his office, he figures she has a question, but she can wait for a few seconds, he doesn't feel like hurrying to the official start of the day and handing out the assignment slips. Thinking that after 50 years he has somewhere much better to be another smile graces Grissom's face.

Catherine spies Grissom walking down the hall and decides to wait in his office, she is going to court in 4 days and wants to check up some facts on the case quick, as well as just give her good friend a hard time for working too hard and not having a private life. As Catherine enters the office she sees that most of Grissom's paperwork is done, it makes her wonder what is going on to make him catch up in his paperwork. Then she sees something on top of the pile, it was at an odd angle. She really doesn't mean to snoop but her curiosity gets the better of her and she walks over to look at the piece of paper and gets a shock when she finds what is on it.

"Griss, what's this?" she asks picking up the picture to look at it closer. "Where the hell did this come from?" Catherine questions, bringing the picture that was on top of the desk closer to her eyes.

"What is it?" Griss asks while walking into his office, holding on to the assignment slips for that night. Grissom is obviously very happy about something. On any normal day Catherine wouldn't stop until she had the entire story, but now she barely notices what a good mood Grissom is in. Despite her distraught state she raises her eyebrow to Grissom when he hums a few notes.

"This picture. Where did it come from?" Catherine repeats her question, bringing the focus onto a ratty looking photo now in her ungloved hand, leaving her prints on it.

"Can I see it, or do you just want me to answer first?" Grissom replies, a smirk on his face, a laugh in his voice, nearly a bounce in his step. Had Catherine been paying attention she would have been wondering what happened to Grissom, did he have a concussion, was he abducted by aliens? or something that not even Catherine could imagine; Grissom in love.

"Here look at it!" Catherine yelped, pushing the picture into Grissom's face.

"Where did you find this?" Grissom asked, immediately dropping the assignment slips onto the floor, not noticing when they scattered around his feet and under his desk. He put his hand out to catch himself on his desk, all of his strength suddenly gone. The color draining from his face. Although he had heard the horror stories and knew what happened, had traced the scars with his lips, trying to take away the pain that had to be associated with them, he had never seen a picture of what she had survived, had no clue what had truly happened to her, what she saw, heard, experienced.

His first coherent thought after seeing the picture was how he could stop this, how could he protect her from what he knew would happen. He knew the last time she had seen this picture, and didn't want her to have to relive those memories. He also knew that he or Sara would need to call Alex. The needed to make sure she was okay and have her come to Vegas, so that they could make sure that she stayed healthy.

"On the top of all of your paperwork." Cath said, now concerned, and no longer convinced that this was just some kind of practical joke. Worried by how her friend, who normally showed no emotion, was reacting to this picture. "Grissom, how…no… when was that picture taken. Is that who I think it...?" Catherine trailed off realizing that Grissom hadn't heard a word she said.

"Oh, God, where is Sara? This, I assumed it was about me, the box was addressed to me, but it's not, it's about her. Would anyone else know… who would do this?" Grissom questioned the empty space in front of him.

"I'll find Sara and bring her here, but first Grissom, what is this about? What is on that picture that has you so upset?" Cath asked, realizing that one of them would need to remain level headed, and apparently it would not be Grissom. That realization frightened Cath more than anything else. What could shake the man accused of not having any emotions?

"Cath, look at the doll on the desk" Grissom said, his voice beginning to quiver slightly, but he was able to shake that off before Catherine noticed.

For the first time Catherine moves her eyes off of the little girl in the picture. She forces herself to stop looking at the child. A child with a bruise covering half her face, one black eye a cast on her arm, hand shaped bruises on her upper arms, and bruises poking out from where her tattered and dirty shirt didn't quite meet her skirt. The little girl had Bruises and abrasions where her skirt met the skin on her inner thigh and bruises showing where there are holes in the skirt and shirt. Catherine forced herself to stop looking at the little girl who had been sitting at a desk looking like she had been studying, now looking at the person taking her picture with a terrified expression. When she forces herself not to look at the little girl she notices a doll on the desk, and a little blood on the forehead of the doll.

"Grissom, that is the doll that has been, in some way, included in all of our miniature crime scenes." Cath states, hoping that the picture she was beginning to form from the information she has is inaccurate. Hoping that her co-worker isn't the target of a murderer; that she hadn't been forced to survive in a house where violence was the rule, and the stronger individuals felt it was there right to take what they wanted for the weaker people in the family, whether the weaker be a sister, wife or daughter.

"Cath, find Sara, bring her here. Don't tell her what this is about; I don't want you to scare her. I want her somewhere safe when she finds out about this." Grissom says, beginning to get some control over his emotions, his voice coming out clear and strong. He realizes that he will have to stay level headed so that Sara can lean on him, because she will need a friend, especially now.

"You mean here, with you?" Cath asks, as she starts to feel like her friend may know a lot more about this then he let on, at least about the picture, or the person in it.

"No Cath, not here. Someone was able to get into my office, leave this picture, and get out of the building without bringing any attention to themselves. I don't know if there is any surveillance equipment here, or if it is even someone associated with the lab or law enforcement at this time. So no, I don't consider this a safe place anymore" Grissom answers.

"Okay" Catherine responds not sure exactly what it means when someone is able to get into the crime lab to leave the picture, also noticing that her friend didn't deny that he considers Sara safe with him. For the first time Cath considers how her friend is acting, he seemed happy when he came in, but finding out that Sara may be in danger he immediately went from being happy to being alarmed. More than alarmed, if it was anyone else she would say that they were scared silly. When Nick was taken everyone was on edge, but it was nothing like what she was seeing now from her long time friend.


	3. Chapter 2

3

Don't own them yet. If you like to give me a few hundred thousand this story may become reality (ummm…well as much as a fiction show can turn into reality)

**CHAPTER 2**

"Grissom, what's going on? Why is Cath escorting me to your office?" Sara asks, half joking, half concerned by the tenor in Catherine's voice when she asked Sara to come with her to Grissom's office. She is also concerned that Cath refuses to answer any questions. Sara precedes Catherine into Grissom's office, as Catherine pushes Sara ahead. Grissom is now sitting on the couch in his office, his head down, his eyes focusing on something in his hand. Sara can see that he is looking at a piece of paper, but is not able to make out what it is.

"Sara, come here" Grissom states, not allowing her the option to object.

"Grissom, what is going on?" Sara questions becoming freighted with how Grissom and Catherine are acting. Sara can determine that Grissom is looking at an old picture, but she can't see what is on the picture. Sara does notice the moisture Grissom is trying to fight still beginning to form in his eyes.

"Sara, please come and sit down, it looks like your past may be involved in a case" Grissom explains while leading Sara to the couch to have her sit down. Catherine's mouth drops at the confirmation that the ideas forming in her head are accurate. She is reeling from the fact that Grissom is referring to Sara's past, what is the story behind that picture. Catherine had always assumed that Sara had a perfect past with parents who doted on her, now she is being forced to consider that maybe Sara's past that was pure hell. Cath decides that she has to be more understanding of Sara, and try to help her deal with her past, especially since it appears that it is becoming her future.

"What, What do you mean?" Sara stutters suddenly cold with the thought that the past she had left behind is coming back to haunt her. She wonders why it is that the world just keeps throwing this crap at her. Hasn't she survived enough? Her goal was just to be able to live without everyone knowing her past. She can't stand pity and only one person has learned of her past and still looks at her with admiration, and concern, but no sign of pity. Sara is currently looking at the person, asking him with her eyes if he is certain that whichever case he is referring to really relates to her past, or can it be a coincidence. Even before her mind finishes forming the question, she can see the answer in his eyes, yes, he is sure.

"I don't want to talk about it here, there was a picture delivered to my office, suggesting that someone was able to get into my office without being noticed." Grissom explains softly, trying not to frighten Sara.

"Where do you want to go?" Sara asks, almost going into a catatonic state at all of the memories going through her mind.

"Sara, that is up to you. I don't know if there is any surveillance equipment either here or at our places." Grissom explains, hoping that this news won't alarm Sara anymore than it appears that she was already is. Grissom isn't sure how many more shocks to the system Sara will be able to suffer without falling apart and he doesn't want her to lose control in front of her co-workers, knowing how private she is.

"OK, ummm, is it okay if we go out to Lake Mead?" Sara asks just going into autopilot. Griss knows she is thinking of the cove where he had previously heard about most of her past. She had cried in his arms there, he knew he hadn't heard everything, but didn't know if he could hear anymore on that fall day. When she suggests the cove this all flashes through Sara's mind as well and she realizes that she may have to tell him more details about what happened. She can only hope that he won't abandon her after he learns of everything that she has been through in the past.

"Of course, who do you want to have there with us?" Grissom asks gently, knowing that there is a good chance Sara hasn't yet processed that someone else on the team will have to know what is happening, and process the evidence.

"What, why would anyone else go?" Sara asks, immediately her mind starts to work through the problem. "Someone besides us will need to work this case. Griss, after the reverse forensic issue, I don't want to create any rumors or secrets between the team. I also don't know if I can go through this again. Can everyone be there, and I can just give them the files? Then if they have questions I can answer them. Please, I don't know if I can tell them about what happened. I'm sorry, I just don't know if I'm strong enough to do this." Sara rushed through, apparently becoming either more upset or getting past the first stages of shock. Grissom softly runs his hands over Sara's arms, up to her cheeks to wipe away the moisture gathering there. He pulls Sara into a tight hug, just holding her against him, feeling tremors running through her body. Grissom is gently rubbing her back reassuring her that everything will be ok eventually. Whispering words of comfort in her ear, completely forgetting that they had an audience as he consoles the woman in his arms, hoping that she will be able to survive what is to come.

"Hey Sara, of coarse we can have everyone there, but I don't know if we have time to get the fil.." Grissom begins when Sara is a little bit calmer.

"I saved the files that I gave you. They are in the fireproof box. I know what I told you; that I needed them destroyed, but I couldn't. I'm sorry I told you they were gone, when they weren't." Sara interrupts letting Grissom know that it won't take anymore time than necessary to get to the files. Then she begins to be concerned that he may be angry since she had lied to him about having destroyed the files after he had read through them.

"OK, we will go pick up the file and some clothes. Honey, it is okay that you kept the files, I'm not mad at you." Grissom told her, instinctively knowing that she is nervous about still having the files. Looking up Grissom realizes that Catherine is still in the room as she stood by a shelf looking at the fetal pig Grissom had in his office, it appears she is trying to look like she isn't eavesdropping, but he would be willing to bet that she heard every word and saw their momentary break down. Hopefully she won't say anything to the other guys. Catherine has to have suspicions, but he can just claim it was do to the stress of what is happening. "Catherine, can you get Nick, Warrick and Greg and meet Sara and I at Lake Mead?"

"Sure, I'll get them now. Shift is over, do you want us to grab breakfast and meet you in an hour and a half." Cath replies, knowing that neither Grissom nor Sara would want her to point out that they are not in the mind frame to talk for long.

"Sounds good, we'll see you then." Grissom responds, managing to make his voice strong, as he tries to get Sara to stand up under her own power. Mentally he is berating himself, isn't the woman he loves and promised to protect more important than anything? Isn't she more important than making sure that there private lives are separate from their professional lives? Shouldn't he just sweep her up and take care of her? But in his heart he knows that if they do take their relationship public, it should be a decision that they make when they are thinking about the consequences. The sheriff only agreed to the relationship on the basis that it would be discreet. He also knows that Sara won't be happy if he unilaterally makes the decision to tell their co-workers.


	4. Chapter 3

Still not mine…My birthday is coming up…but I suppose I should own my home outright before I buy them.

**CHAPTER 3**

Grissom pulls the Tahoe into the parking lot at Lake Mead, and both he and Sara spy the rest of the team waiting.

"Alright Grissom, where do you want breakfast set up?" Cath asks while handing him a large black coffee and handing Sara a large soy latte. Looking between the two of them and hoping that they would be able to get through the next few hours.

"Hey guys, what's going on, ya know Tina and I were goin' out today. This better be worth the flowers and dinner I'll owe her." Warrick chimes in; he wants to try to keep things light. Warrick then takes a closer look at Griss, Sara, and Cath realizes that this will not be a fun morning.

"Guys, what's going on, couldn't we just meet in the break room?" Greg asks, curious as to why it was necessary to drive out to Lake Mead to talk about…well to talk about whatever they are out here to talk about. Nick doesn't say a word; he observes how lost Sara looks. Watching how she holds her coffee, sipping it, but not tasting it. Noticing how she seems to be hiding behind Grissom. Grissom walks over to take one bagel, and two containers of fruit and forks. He than takes two thick files from under his arm and hands them to Cath.

"There is a cove over there with a table. You guys go there have breakfast, and then look through the information. Sara and I are going to take a walk and be back in a few of hours. Then we will answer your questions. In the mean time, Cath, I am waiting for a call; her name is Alex. Take my cell phone, if she calls tell her she needs to come to Vegas. Brass will meet her at the airport. He will bring her to where Sara and I are at the time. Call Brass and let him know we are here; I'll call him back if we go home. Actually, would you mind calling a hotel; I don't want to take Sara back home until we can get it swept to look for surveillance. Will you call Brass after you talk to Alex, let him know what time her flight lands."

"Griss, who is Alex, what does she have to do with this?" Cath questions, confusion entering her mind as she tries to figure out who this new person is and where she fits into the puzzle. Could Alex be a sister or foster sister of Sara? Could she possibly be a friend that Sara confides in, someone who can help her deal with the next few days?

"Cath, look through the files, we'll talk later." Grissom retorts while he walks over to the Tahoe, where Sara is standing. Grissom gently reaches for Sara's hand grasping it between his own hands, as they walk toward the lake. As they are walking along the shore in silence, Griss breaks the tranquility of the moment. "I love you; I'll be here for you, no matter what. I'm not going to work this case directly, I can't. I'm too close to stay objective" Grissom broke the silence while bringing Sara closer to himself. "Come on, let's go take a walk."

"Thank you, for not pressuring me to talk about this. I..I thank you for that, but now, is there anything that you need to know, that you need to ask. I understand that there are still questions that you have. " Sara rushed through, not sure that she would really be able to answer any questions.

"No, Honey, it's not that I have questions, more that I just want to be able to try to take the pain of those memories from you, Sara. I have read the files. I will never be able to completely understand what you have gone through. I do want to understand, I do want to help you. We both know I'm not the best at relationships. Tell me how you want me to help you. I can talk about the life cycle of the blow fly, at the least it should be enough to put you to sleep. I can listen if you would like to talk about it. I can walk in silence; just tell me what you need. Sara, I have to tell you something. I've called Alex to come to Vegas, she could be in danger. I need to know that both of you are safe. I hope you're not mad at me. Sara…honey, say something." Grissom said looking at Sara, then noticing the tears in her eyes.

"Thank you Griss. It means so much to me that you have accepted her. You have helped me take care of her in so many ways over the years. I think that it is time for the rest of the team to meet my daughter." Sara responds, beginning to cry, holding onto Grissom, her rock through all she has suffered. "I'm sorry; I don't know why I keep crying. Usually I can hold it together better than this."

"I know honey, right now you are going through a lot. Your response is normal. Thank you for letting me be here for you. Would you like to keep talking or do you want to walk. What will help you the best right now."

"Can we walk? I need some time to try to get my thoughts in order, and to get my emotions back in line. Well, at least a little before we go back to the guys."

"Of course, dear" Grissom says, using the pet name that he knows always makes her smile. Looking over at Sara he watches as she yawns and knows that they should stop and rest for awhile. The stress of the day is affecting her more than she would like to admit. Spotting a shaded area on the beach Griss leads Sara to the spot and encourages her to sit; he follows her down sitting down behind her. Grissom gently cradles Sara in his arms, leaning against an outcropping of rocks; the waves and warmth gently lull them both to sleep.

"Oh God, how could she go through this? Why didn't she tell any of us what happened to her?" Nick questions. "I mean, damn it, did she think we would feel differently about her?" As Nick begins his rant it is Greg who stops him.

"Nick, calm down. We still have another file to go through. If they come back she doesn't need to see us losing it. As for not telling us, when do you suggest she do that. When Griss first brought her in for her to investigate Warrick, and we all looked at her as an outsider. After we had a domestic violence case, and she became too focused on it? When she was suspended for blowing up at Cath and Ecklie? When we were out for breakfast as a team, and everyone else was complaining about overprotective parents, or busy body siblings. Let's face it, us not knowing is just as much our fault as hers. We knew she was able to drop everything and come to Vegas, from a single phone call. We all saw how she reacted to domestic violence and rape cases. We noticed that she never took off holidays and never spoke about her family, we never heard of her calling or visiting them. Did anyone ever get her into private, let her know that we cared for her and wanted to help. Truly ask her why some cases bothered her? Asked where her parents were, if she had any brothers or sisters? Asked her questions and cared about the answers, just for the sake of trying to help her. No, I don't think so, we didn't ask, so we don't have the right to be mad about not being told about this. Ok guys, you can stop looking at me like I'm an alien now, I'm done…seriously."

"Guys, Greg is right" Cath huffs, she continues "but there is one point I think is slightly off."

"What do you mean Cath?" Warrick asks, getting over his shock at Greg's speech, and ashamed at how accurate it is.

"Well Warrick, who isn't here with us? Who already knows what we are finding out? Grissom has seen these files; Sara mentioned it in his office earlier."

"What! Why the hell didn't he tell us then, if he has a right to know then so do we!" Nick once again burst out. "As much as this affects her boss, he should realize that it affects us as well."

"Nick, I don't think that Sara told him as her boss. I think she told him as a friend, maybe more. You guys saw how they acted when they were here. Earlier Griss was comforting her in his office and they seemed close. He seems to know at least some of what is going on. I don't think that he could have told us even if he wanted to. Both of them are private people. If he told us anything before Sara was ready she may never confide in him again. Then who would she turn to when it all became too much to handle. He needs to know that she knows that she can trust him. Alright now, break over; let's go on to the second file. I hope it has very little in common with the first file."

"Sorry to disappoint you Cath, I need to take a quick break from this one." Warrick spoke up. He was reading the file while the rest of the team argued over what information they should have been given, and needed some time away from the file. "More so, I think I know who Alex is.' He continues. "It appears Sara is the survivor of a rapist, known as the Picture Killer. His signature is to kidnap a young woman, hell more like a kid, between the ages of 14 and 22. He holds them as a hostage for about 5 weeks. In that time he beats and rapes them. The other bodies recovered were covered in burns, broken bones, bruises, contusions… everything. He also sends tapes, pictures, any proof of what he is doing to his primary victim to their next of kin. At the end he dumps the body in a ditch. It appears in Sara's case, there was no one to send the videos, but otherwise he kept to his signature. Only difference, Sara wasn't dead when he dumped her body, she managed to flag down a passing car. Grissom was on the case with two other CSI's. It could be why he knows more about Sara and her past." Warrick states, noticing that everyone is looking at him like he is crazy, he goes on to explain. "Think about it guys, her and Grissom don't know each other. This starts as just another case, but then they meet later at a seminar."

"That makes sense" Cath continues, "Sara said they met when she was 19 at a seminar, and had just started working as a coroner in San Francisco. So say after the seminar they started talking. One of them mentions something, probably Sara saying she had to get home to Alex, what she would have been one; it triggers a memory in Griss. Grissom asks her outright if she is the victim he helped to process. Sara can't lie, they continue to talk and form a friendship. Griss becomes a part of the family, which would explain the vacations he used to take to San Francisco. When Sara can't handle her past alone she tells the one person who knows some of her past."

"Well, according to the file Sara states that the only thing missing from her purse is a picture that she always carried with her, one from her childhood. I don't know what was on the picture. Anyway there is a note in Sara's file that she had a daughter 8 ½ months after she was found. She named her Alexandra Rose Sidle. Cath, Alex wouldn't have been one when Griss and Sara met at the seminar, she would have been four. Sara was his youngest victim, 15 when she had the baby."

"Wait" Cath interrupts, "she was 15 when she had the baby, she's 36 now. This means Alex is 21. We've known Sara for over 6 years. Sara had a 15 year old when she moved. How did none of us notice that! Also this could be the picture." Cath declares showing the guys the picture found in Grissom's office.

"Wait go back a second Cath, maybe we should ask about what happened to Alex when Sara moved to Vegas. Where is her daughter, did a friend take care of her?" Greg exclaims, when everyone looks at him he goes on to explain. "Guys, you've seen how Sara is today, do you think that she is ready for any serious questioning. We will have to figure out what we can ask without making her shut down, I think that her daughter may be a way to get into at least some of what happened without pushing too much. After all Sara had this girl at 15 and has apparently either raised her or kept in contact with her for the last 21 years. You know maybe we could ask about that, after all, don't all moms like to talk about their kids, and this one has been around more than half of Sara's life, that has to count for something?" When Greg finishes Cath looks at him with a new found respect, realizing that the young man is growing up.

"You know Greg, you are right. We have to find out the facts, but we don't want to scare her. In the end we want her to know that she can come to us for help." Cath finishes just as Grissom's cell phone starts to ring. "Hello, Gil Grissom's phone, Catherine speaking"

"_Hi, this is Alex, I'm trying to reach Griss, he left me a message earlier today" The_ young woman on the other end of the phone states.

"Yes, Alex. I'm Cath; I work with Griss and Sara. Griss said that he want's you to fly out to Vegas."

"_When I got the message that was the way it sounded. I actually just landed. Griss has given me a number for…a Jim Brass. I've called him and he should be here soon. Do you know where I should meet with Sara and Griss?"_

"We are at Lake Mead, let Jim know that we are in the cove on the West side of the lake. He'll be able to find us."

"_Alright, thanks. I'll let you go and talk in person soon."_ The young woman ends the phone call. Turning around she notices a shorter man walking straight toward her. Realizing that this was one way that she was not like her mother, Alex starts walking right to the man and holds out her hand introducing herself. "Hi, I'm Alex, you must be Jim Brass."

"That must be right," The detective declares shaking her hand. "Which would make you Alex? You know if I tell you something, do you promise not to tell Sara."

"Sure" Alex replies instinctive trusting the man that Sara had told her she thought of as her father.

"Well, I messed up when I was younger. Pretty much abandoned my family. Now my daughter will hardly ever talk to me or sees me. It's getting better, but still hard. In the mean time I met the smartest, most beautiful young woman. She is one of the best criminalists, I've ever known. Something about her struck me as sad and alone. After a while I realized that she never spoke of a family. From that time on I decided that I had a second chance. I may not have been the best father to my daughter, but I could try to be the best father I could be to Sara. Now it appears that I will have to thank her for giving me the honor of being a grandpa. That is if you don't mind." Jim finishes, estimating the young woman's age to be 20 to 25. Wondering how Sara had managed to have such a successful career when it appears she had survived hell as a child. He didn't know the whole story, but Grissom had told him enough for him to understand that family would be very important for Sara and Alex in the coming weeks. He was hoping to be able to be a part of their family for years beyond that.

"You know, I've never had a grandpa before. I think that you have 21 years to make up for not spoiling me rotten. If you stop at a coffee shop I'll let you start by getting me a latte." Alex pronounces smiling and taking Brass' arm as they start to walk. Alex carries her small bag while Brass rolls her larger bag; Alex appreciates the help, but doesn't want Brass to overwork after having been shot the year before. "You know let's go see what was so important that I came here."

"Well, let's get this show on the road. Lake Mead you say is our end destination. If you need a nap we will be on the road for about an hour and a half."


	5. Chapter 4

_Not mine…Don't sue…Please I will return them relatively unharmed…at least after they are released from the hospital_

_As you can tell this is really not canon…but I hope you enjoy it anyway. PS you know you want to review…Also Not Beta'd so all mistakes are mine…I do own something from this story!!! The mistakes._

**Chapter 4**

After reviewing the files the rest of the team was sitting around the table. "OK guys so what do we do now?" Nick inquires of the group in general. "Do we know when they are going to be returning?"

"No, Grissom just said that they would be back later, he didn't give a time frame." Cath answers with a concerned expression. "Do you guys think that we should go try to find them?"

"I'm betting that they are just fine." Warrick replies. "They probably need some time to talk, or just relax. They've both been through a lot in the last few months, and now this on top of it…it's gonna take some time for them to decompress." Warrick continues, nearly positive that he is right, but a portion of him fearful that he is wrong. Everyone in the group looks up as they hear the people approaching.

"Hey guys, I'd like to introduce you to Alex. Alex this is the team." Brass begins, planning on introducing everyone to Alex; she surprises the group as she breaks in.

"Cath, it's nice to meet you, or would you prefer that I call you Catherine?" Alex holds out her hand to shake Cath's.

"Please, just call me Cath" Catherine replies shaking Alex's hand.

"Warrick, how are you." Alex turns to Warrick next shaking his hand.

"Nick, nice meeting you."

"Ma'am, it's nice to meet you also." Nick steps up and takes Alex's hand.

"And a southern gentleman as well, it will be nice getting to know you better."

"And YOU must be Greg, I understand I should see you if I need a coffee fix." Alex finishes turning to Greg.

"Umm, Yes I am, on both counts. It sounds like you've heard all about us, can we hear more about you?" Greg continues, feeling slightly off center, meeting the beautiful young woman, who is the daughter of his mentor.

"Ahh, I was hoping you would say that, I'm afraid that information will cost you." Alex explains, hearing Brass chuckle behind her. "Do you have something to add Brass?" Alex questions.

"Yeah, I just want to warn you Greg, this could be some expensive information. I've already been conned into getting her two lattes, and I've known her less than an hour. I think she thinks coffee is a food group."

"No, no, no. Coffee is not a food group, it is THE food group." Alex interrupts laughing, acting offended. "So how about it Sanders, every day that I am in town, on this visit, you will buy me a coffee."

"Tell you what, I will buy you one coffee, and give you one cup of my special blend coffee." Greg replies, thinking that this woman could be fun to be friends with.

"Alright we have a deal, if I were you, I'd collect $5 bucks from everyone here and be a night in shinning armor and bring extra coffee to me. Just a suggestion though." Alex continues teasing Greg, not quite understanding why it is that she finds him so interesting. Sara and Griss both find Greg to be a good worker, but annoying at times; again they probably say the same thing about her at times.

"I'll keep it in mind. So, since I'm the one bribing you, I think I should get to ask the first question. How do you know who we are?"

"Well, I do talk to my mother at odd intervals. Sara wasn't sure she how to introduce me to you with out a bunch of…shall we say unfortunate questions. I already knew that she had co-workers so talking about you to me was natural. She even showed me a picture from a holiday party." Alex replies, trying to keep it cool and stay in control, even though she is beginning to get nervous about what is going on.

"So that means that you know that one of us is missing" Nick teases Alex, hoping to see if she knows who Griss is.

"No he's not. Griss is probably with Sara, and since I'm here they will probably walk around the corner in about ten minutes."

"What is it like to have Sara as a mom?" Warrick questions, seeing if he can get some more information.

"I don't know how to answer that, she's the only mom I've ever had. I can't really compare that to a 'normal' childhood. I went with her when she went to college, moved back to Cali with her. We were pretty close in age so sometimes it was like mother and daughter and sometimes it was like we were just friends." Alex explains, getting into her past, sometimes she wishes for the days when life was easier and she could just ask Sara to handle everything.

"Sara did act paranoid at times. Griss was always there when we needed him too. One year he even dressed up as Santa Claus and came to visit two weeks before Christmas to see what I wanted." Alex continues, the pleasant memories making her smile.

"So what did you ask for?" Cath asks after a minute.

At the question Alex begins to laugh, prompting everyone to look at her. "Well you should have seen it. Griss was dressed up as Santa, came to the door, did the entire Santa setup. Then he asked what I wanted for Christmas, being a normal six year old, I said that I wanted a baby brother. My God, I thought he was going to have a heart attack. I had been asking for a cabbage patch doll for the last three months, mom was sure that I was going to ask for that and had told Grissom to say yes he would give me whatever I asked for. Immediately mom started to shake her head NO, Griss decided the best way to handle the question was to try to explain the bird and the bees to me. Mom interrupted pretty quickly. You can probably image the scene." Alex ends laughing at the memory of Grissom stumbling over his words and Sara turning bright red. Everyone else burst out laughing, releasing the tension that had built up. "Hey is that Griss and Sara now." Alex asks looking over to the beach seeing the two people walking close to each other, but not touching. When they were closer to the group Sara and Grissom took another step away from each other.

"Alex, it is good to see you again. I'll get to the point of you being here; someone may be trying to harm you or Sara. I'm not willing to take the chance on one of you being hurt. In order to stay safe you will not go anywhere without one of us with you." Grissom began, Sara breaking in and completing the thoughts.

"Alex, I don't want to see anything happen to you. I need to know that you are safe, I know you think I am paranoid, but I'm not." Sara finishes.

"Just for the record, just because someone is after you, doesn't mean you're not paranoid. Just means you have a good reason." Alex states.

"Alright everyone, Alex this includes you, how about we sit down. Do you guys have any questions either for Sara or Alex?"

"Oh, Oh, Oh, I have some questions." Greg states. … …

"Are you actually going to ask your questions Greg, or did you just want to announce that you have them?" Grissom interrupts a minute of silence.

"Yes, I'll ask, ok, Sara or Alex, how is it possible that we have never met Alex, I mean who have you been living with?"

"When I was first taken into foster care I was placed with some really bad families, but then after my kidnapping I was placed with a couple who were really great" Sara begins her story from the time she entered foster care, believing that it is important for the others to understand more about her past, before she jumps straight to the answer. "They helped me through the pregnancy and when Alex was first born. They made sure that I applied to college and was able to go to a college that I wanted to go to. During finals, or a large project, they would fly out and take care of Alex; they made sure that my life was better than before I met them. When I left for Vegas they took care of Alex until she left for college. They were in an accident about a year after Alex left for college." Sara explains.

"Wait a second, is that when you took that week off, about a year and a half after you started working here?" Cath breaks in, feeling that something is being left out of the story.

"Yes, I took care of their estate and helped plan memorial services." Sara explains the only voluntary vacation she has taken since beginning to work as a Las Vegas CSI.

"But that means that Alex was still only 16 ½, what do you mean she was in college for a year?" Warrick asks, truly wondering if Alex was really that intelligent.

"Sara moved to Vegas when I was 15 ½, NOT 15" Alex proclaims, then realizes that she is probably not helping her case by clarifying her age, it may be making her sound younger. "I was 17 when Sara's foster parents died. I had been accepted to Stanford as an early admission at the age of 16. Simply, I had been in college for a year, and there was no issue. Sara apparently knew some of the teachers, and had arranged for them to check up, and we called each other regularly, even if it was just to leave a message that we were fine. I suppose I was like any collage kid, just getting more calls from home."

"So you took your first college class when you were 16?" Nick clarifies.

"Yes, well, more or less, I did have some AP credits from High School, but they were only in basic classes."

"Wow, and I felt lucky to be accepted at all." Nick jokes amazed that Alex had started college so young.

"Anyway, it was pretty easy for Sara to just not mention me." Alex continues, glancing at Sara and Griss. "You know, it's been a long day and I'm kind of tired from the flight. Does anyone mind if we pick this up tomorrow?"

Cath notices the glace Alex throws Sara's way and sees how tired they both look. She decides that it is a great time for a break. "You know, I think that Alex is right. I have booked you guys into the Bellagio Griss; I only booked two adjoining rooms. I don't know if you want anyone to stay with Sara and Alex, I can see if I can get another room nearby."

"Don't worry about it Cath, I'll stay with them to start with. Brass can you post a guard outside the rooms?" Grissom questions, turning to his good friend.

"Yeah, sure, of course. There will be two guards posted at all times. Brass agrees nodding. "Alex, your bags are in my vehicle. I'll have the boys grab them and put them in Grissom's Denali." Brass finishes, Greg and Nick jump up to move the bags. "How about if we meet for lunch and see if we can figure out anything else. Like whom this bastard is." Brass finishes under his breath, hoping no-one heard him, but sees Alex smile as she dips her head.

"Hey Greg, can I talk to you a second?" Alex asks as the group begins to walk to the vehicles.

"Sure, actually I owe you a coffee. If you are up for it I can drive you to the hotel and get you your coffee at the same time." Greg said looking forward to spending some time with Alex outside the group and guessing that what Alex had to say she didn't want to say in front of Grissom and Sara.

"That would be perfect." Alex said beginning to walk more with Greg than with Grissom and Sara. "Griss, is it OK with you if Greg drops me off in about an hour?"

"Of course it is, Alex. I don't want you to feel you have to spend every moment with either Sara or myself. We just want to make sure you are safe. Greg, will you find out what rooms we have and walk her up to the room?"

"Yes, even without everything else, I won't let someone new alone in Vegas." Greg answers, knowing that it was hard for Grissom to trust anyone with something or someone as important to him as Sara's daughter.

"Greg, I was wondering if in the coming days you could do me a huge favor?" Alex asks, hoping Greg would do this for her.

"First, before I agree to anything I need to know what I am agreeing to." Greg answers not willing to agree to anything until he knows exactly what is expected of him, after all he knows he is dealing with a very intelligent woman, who may just have Sara's 'unique' sense of humor.

"OK, I would like it if on occasion you would do what you did today. Take me somewhere so Griss and mom can spend time together, and not feel bad about ignoring me."

"Wow, it is so weird to hear you refer to Sara as your mom." Greg starts getting off the subject, before pulling himself back in. "I would be more than happy to spend time with you, and would have anyway. In fact I think you'll find everyone on shift more than willing to entertain you."

"Thanks Greg. Tell you what, I am actually pretty tired, so I'll let you off the hook for a coffee today if you just want to take me to the Bellagio."

"No problimo, your Greggo is at your service. Although I will be walking you up to your room. And no eye roll like you gave Grissom when he said that. You do have to be careful in Vegas." Greg returns, turning into the Bellagio's parking lot. "I was guessing you just wanted to talk and not stop for coffee when you asked to ride with me, besides there are coffee shops here." Greg said when he saw Alex giving him the famous Sidle smile. "Come on, let's go deliver you safe and sound to your parents…I'm sorry, I mean your mom."

"Hey, don't worry about it. Griss has always been like a father to me. I guess that's kind of how I thought about it growing up. I had my mom there, and my dad was always just a phone call away. Sometimes I think they never got together because they didn't want to confuse me. Like having a 15 year old mother is normal." Alex laughs while the elevator ascends to the tenth floor where Alex will be staying at. Knocking they wait for Grissom or Sara to answer the door as they don't have a key. Grissom answers the door, his hair in disarray, obviously someone has been running there hands through it. Alex and Greg can just see Sara in the room, quickly pulling the covers even further up her neck, her hair also tussled. "You know, they may have been right, very confused." Alex says, looking at Greg, a smile still on her face, then turning to Grissom. "I'm guessing that I will be staying in that room, do you have the key for me?" Alex asks pointing to the adjoining room.

"Yes, here it is." Griss said looking slightly red at the interruption, wearing the hotels robe and not much else by the looks of it. "This isn't what it looks like." Griss was going to continue, but was cut off.

"That's really too bad. Pretend we aren't here, and continue what it appears was interrupted, instead of whatever you are saying we did interrupt." Alex broke in, smiling. "You've both had a stressful day, from what I hear endorphins can help with that." She continues, talking loud enough for Sara to hear, watching as they flush an even deeper red.

"Hey Alex, you should go to your room and get some sleep. I'm actually going to take off to get some sleep. Apparently I'm so exhausted that I am hallucinating, so I won't ever mention this again, ever." Greg said giving Grissom a look to let him know he is serious, no-one would be hearing about this from him, now Alex; he can't make any guarantee about.

"Thanks Greg" Grissom answers handing over the key to the adjoining room. "Can you make sure she gets into her room and stay until the officers get here? Tell them to let us know when she leaves her room and for one of them to stay with her and keep her company."

"I'm right here, I won't do anything stupid. And I will never mention this again. Anyway I am exhausted, so I will see you all later." Alex declares, going to her door and letting herself in. Grissom also closes his door. Leaving Greg in the hall, as the two officers' report for duty. Greg relays the information on watching Alex and lets himself out with a sigh thinking this is a very weird day.


	6. Chapter 5

_Not Mine…But at least Sara isn't left in the rain ALL summer in this story. It's almost enough to kill me. _

_Hope you enjoy the story. Let me know how I'm doing, or if I have gone astray._

**CHAPTER 5**

"Okay everyone, this cannot be our only case, but we will always have at least two individuals on it. Grissom and Sara are taking today off, but will be available for questions, they will be returning tomorrow for lab duty only" Cath pronounces then notices that Ecklie just walked into the room.

"Ms. Willows, can I talk to you for a second?" Ecklie asks beginning to walk out of the room, expecting Catherine to follow him.

"Of course Ecklie." Cath responds slightly sarcastically. Hoping that he will understand why graveyard has to hand off most of there cases in order to devote more people to the miniature killer, now the case they know is associated with there friend. "Ecklie" Catherine starts "the entire shift needs to be on this case for the first 24 hours, after that we can work some other cases" continues Catherine beginning to pick up steam as she begins her tirade.

"Catherine, calm down, and shut the door." Conrad interrupts after they reach his office. "Sara and Grissom came to see me earlier. They explained what was going on. They are both on leave for now, for the rest of the week. If necessary we can call them in to do LAB WORK ONLY on unrelated cases, this week. Also I will be assigning you two CSI's from days; it may help the investigation move quicker, or will at least allow your team to work more exclusively on Sidle's case. The sheriff will agree to as much overtime as necessary, I'll make sure of it. I want this closed as quickly as possible. I don't think that I have to tell you that the press will be all over this, we are dealing with a killer that has been playing with us. Now go back to your shift and try to get this closed this week."

"Thanks Conrad. This is more than I was hoping for."

"Cath, one more thing. Keep me posted. This is personal. One of us is being targeted."

"Will do Conrad. I plan on having a briefing meeting at the beginning and end of every shift. Do you want to sit in on those meetings?"

"Thanks, Catherine. That would be great. I'll join you for the next meeting; I have some other meetings that I need to attend, like getting the sheriff to approve a bunch of overtime, that I see on the horizon."

"OK guys, I'm back." Cath said walking into the break room

"Hey, what did Ecklie say, he's not pulling us off this case, is he." Nick asks getting almost as worked up as Catherine was in Ecklie's office.

"Actually, he's doing the opposite, Nick. Ecklie is giving us two day CSI's to help with the case. We have all been authorized for overtime until this case is closed. Sara and Griss will not be returning until next week, unless absolutely necessary. If they are called in they need to stay away from this case and stay in the lab. We can see them outside of work, or to ask them questions, but otherwise let's try to give them some time. Any questions?" Catherine finishes her directives looking around the room, all she witnesses are serious faces, but no questions; everyone knows what has to happen now. "OK we will start with the cases we have. Nick you will start on Sara's kidnapping and the miniature killings, have Greg help. Warrick and I will start with Sara's childhood and continue with the rest of the kidnappings, at least those before Sara's that we know about. Note anything of interest, most likely the miniature killings may have some type of hidden meaning. If you find something that appears to be a message talk it out, meet every few hours, and we will have briefing meetings at the beginning and ending of every shift. Thanks for your time, now get to work."

"Um…I don't want to interrupt or cause problems, but can we ask Alex to run her DNA through CODIS? It could at least give us a name to start with." Greg said, his voice almost asking if he was speaking out of turn.

"You know, we couldn't use it for evidence in the miniature killings directly, but the rape case against Sara is still open, we can use Alex's DNA to prove who is responsible for that. From there we can at least get him for all the kidnapping and murders from the Picture Killer. Even if we can't prove the miniatures he will die in prison." Warrick states.

"Alright, good idea Greg. For now we will wait on that, let's see if we can get this guy without having to pull Alex into it any further. I'll talk to all of you in a few hours."

"You know, it's weird." Greg begins

"Don't you think that we all know that, man?" Nick says, "I mean Sara's a mom, and it sounds like Grissom has been there for them for the last 21 years, how did we miss that. AND it looks like Sara and Griss may have a personal relationship."

"No, not that, I mean yes, that is weird, but look at the different styles of murder between our cases. The Picture Killer versus the Miniature Killer is too different. We have to be looking at two murderers. Which means we are looking for two people who want to hurt Sara, can we check to see who else is in with this, trace back to the Picture Killer from the Miniature Killer?"

"I never even thought about that. You're right this has to been the work of two people. So going off of that who else would want to hurt Sara? The biggest issue maybe that the Picture Killer was never found, so tracing forward or backward may be more difficult." Nick continues Greg's thought.

"Well, I can think of only one person who would be able to tell us who want to hurt Sara, and that is Sara. We should talk to Catherine about our two suspect theory and let her know we are going to drop by and talk to Sara and Grissom." Greg ends, just as Cath pokes her head into the room to see if the boys are making any progress.

"Hey guys, you look like you are trying hard to think through something, want to talk it out?" Cath asks. Greg backs out up a little to let Nick tell Cath about the new theory, but Nick surprises him by insisting that Greg present the theory.

"OK, here is my, well our, theory, Cath. The Picture Killer and the Miniature Killer have signatures too far apart to be a single killer. It has to be two people who are working together or have, at least, met. We need to talk to Sara, get a list of enemies. We can then compare that list to see if two individuals, who would be capable of this, have ever met. We may not be able to get everything, but they may have been arrested or spent time in prison on lesser charges. We aren't talking about outstanding citizens here; their actions may be monitored more closely than other individuals." Greg talks out his theory, hoping Cath will think that it makes sense.

"Good theory, Greg, I have to agree with you. These signatures have to belong to two different people. See if the doll means anything special to Sara, it was in all of the miniatures, the killer could have just put Sara's picture in the dioramas instead."


End file.
